


Sunshine and Rootbeer

by Jay2Noir



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Amortentia, F/M, Fluff, Hogwarts, Potions, Reylo - Freeform, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26512012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jay2Noir/pseuds/Jay2Noir
Summary: The two stand together, confused as the scents of the pearlescent potions in each of their hands' mix and waft into their nostrils. They barely knew each other, but the Amortentia doesn't lie.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 76





	Sunshine and Rootbeer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [quequel07](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=quequel07).



> Request from @quequel07 on Tumblr.  
> Thanks to my conservative Christian upbringing I've only just seen Harry Potter for the first time this year, but I still took on the challenge anyway. Enjoy!

His time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry started when the sorting hat was placed upon his unruly mop of black hair and, after a few hums and a huff of his name, it was decided that he, Ben Solo, would be assigned to the house of Slytherin. The hat was so big and so heavy, and the little eleven year old boy could barely hold his head up as the rest of his incoming class clapped for him, and when it finally dawned on him that he’d be placed with the only two friends he had made on the train ride over to Hogwarts, he smiled. As the hat was lifted from his head he stood from the chair and stepped proudly over to his acquaintances Armitage Hux, a little red headed twelve year old boy he sat next to on the train, and Gwendoline Phasma, a blonde girl who was Ben’s same age. 

“We made it, Ben!” Armitage said, high fiving Ben as he sat down next to him. Ben was truly excited.

Her time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry started when the sorting hat was placed upon her neatly done brown hair, pushing down lightly on the top of her three buns. She had a pleasant smile upon her face as the hat grunted and groaned, then addressed her by name before assigning her to the house she had hoped she’d make it into. Rey Kenobi, the eleven year old girl with one muggle parent and a heart full of hope, made it into Gryffindor with her friends Finn Storm and Poe Dameron. The entire auditorium erupted in applause as the hat was lifted from her head and she skipped merrily to the table with her friends who embraced her and laughed with her. Everyone knew of Rey Kenobi, and about her muggle mother. Everyone seemed to adore her, given the way they clapped louder for her than they did for Ben or anyone else that got sorted that evening.  Ben quickly took notice of the moon eyes that followed her from the stage to her seat and grew suspicious. Even the professors from the house of Slytherin seemed to beam at her. It left him confused, and when he noticed Gwendoline clapping for as well her he leaned and tapped her on the shoulder.

“What’s so special about that Kenobi girl?” He asked, wondering why she was getting a much better reaction than he or anyone else got. Gwen turned to him and leaned up to his ear, whispering something Ben never expected to hear.

“Her grandfather was Professor Sidious,” She said, but Ben didn’t know who that was. “He was a professor who shaped the curriculum a long time ago.” 

Ben didn’t really know what to think. Her grandfather was just a professor, a professor he didn’t even know about, yet she caught the eye of everyone around her. His mother was a natural born wizard that was well known for advocating for wizards in America. She was responsible for using her position as a Senator to recruit American students and get them safely to Ilvermorny before moving permanently with her son to Great Britain. There was a photo of her hanging in the library, and she was honored in every history class that was taught at Hogwarts, and yet no one recognized Ben for his lineage. From across the room Ben glared at her. To him, it wasn’t fair. But, as his father taught him early on, life wasn’t fair. Ben couldn’t care for her when he had his own plans to worry about. He turned back to the stage in order to be able to clap when the next student was assigned, writing Rey off of his mind for good. Little did he know that Rey would become a much bigger part of his life than he originally thought.

The years went on. Ben blossomed and grew in his wizarding abilities. He, just like everyone else moved his schooling forward by becoming efficient in skills such as defense and flying. He studied muggles and their lives closely, learned about the various magical creatures and how to take care of them, and some other subjects that he breezed right through. He struggled through his Divination courses and a few history of magic courses, but there was one class that he excelled at and took every year: potion-making.

His first year in potion-making was a blast. He was paired with Armitage and put to the task of conjuring up potion after potion (under the watchful eye of his professor of course), learning the history of potions, and he even took the time to see if he could come up with potions of his own. This turned out to be a disaster, ending in his dormitory filling up with fireless smoke and a loss of four points from his house. The rest of Slytherin was angry at him, so much so that his housemates refused to even speak to him in the final weeks of the school year, and that summer Ben went home alone and felt so defeated. He wasn’t sure if they ever forgave him, but he still continued to take potions classes with the hope of becoming an expert by the time he was finished at Hogwarts. 

His final year came up quicker than he thought, and even though he had lost Armitage as a friend his love for potions and experimenting with them stood strong. He had passed all of his other classes with A’s and B’s (And one pesky C in an Apparition class, but he wasn’t bothered), and he expected nothing less of his advanced level potions course. He walked in as confidently as ever only to come to a halt as soon as he walked in and saw the last person he was ever expecting to see sitting in the front row.

Rey had proved to be a bigger pain in Ben’s ass than he originally thought. While Ben was generally quieter than she was, he couldn’t stand all of the attention she received from everybody on campus. Nobody ever wanted to speak with him, a direct descendant of Leia Organa, but they always wanted to talk to her. His professors would always stop conversations with him to speak with Rey. They would ignore him walking by in favor of greeting Rey instead. He didn’t know why she was so perfect or so popular, but Ben just couldn’t stand it. No matter how high his marks were, no matter how powerful he got in his wizarding abilities, no matter how social he was or what people he knew, Rey was always the center of attention. It made him bitter, and it annoyed him to know she would likely cast a shadow over him in this class too.

Just like when he watched her get sorted into her house, everyone around her smiled and conversed with her. He hadn’t had too many classes with her in the past, and this was the last class he ever expected to share with her. He stood in the doorway just staring at her until one of the other girls she was talking to shot him a suspicious look. In turn Rey began to turn around, and Ben kicked his feet into gear. He didn’t want to be caught staring at her. That would have been embarrassing; especially since he didn’t quite know why he had decided to stare at her. He quickly found his way to the back of the classroom. From here he could see the back of her head, could stare at her three floppy buns and at her profile whenever she turned to her friends. For some reason, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.

“Good afternoon class,” His professor said as he walked in, silencing the entire class as all eyes fell on him. “Welcome to your final potions course.” His eyes roamed from his professor back to Rey, watching her swivel on her behind to pay all of her attention to the professor. In that moment, Ben decided he would not let her outshine him in his chosen skill. He would do anything he could to be better than her at something, even if it meant he had to work harder than he ever had.

For five weeks, everything went smoothly in Ben’s potions class. Rey always stayed to herself, never spoke to him and always stayed out of his way. Even still, Ben couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. From the back of their classroom Ben would capture short glimpses of her, watching her pour different ingredients together and watching her react just as her potions came to life. Her Grey sweater fit her better than most, and she always held her knees tightly together so that her grey pleated skirt balanced perfectly on her thighs. Whenever Ben found himself staring at her for too long he’d look back at his own work. He didn’t know what was coming over him, but it didn’t matter. Week five started the conjuring of a special potion, one that the class had been studying for a week now.

Amortentia. The most powerful love potion in existence. His professor spent days lecturing about it, and warning the class that it was not a potion to play around with. When used the wrong way or on the wrong person, it would become dangerous, even deadly. While there was no way to manufacture love or lust, this was the closest you could get, and the professor urged the students not to drink it or have anyone else drink it. He wanted them to be responsible, and Ben had no qualms about it. He was seventeen years old, just about to graduate from Hogwarts and face the world on his own. He wasn’t interested in finding a mate just yet and simply planned to bottle up his Amortentia and save it for later. 

It took another week for the class to start the process. Starting with potioning water, Ben slowly added the crushed peppermint flowerheads and stirred as his cauldron warmed over the fire. The room was dark and quiet as everyone did just as he did, and the professor walked up and down the aisles to ensure all of his students were being safe. The powdered moonstone came next, and Ben was careful to stir it counterclockwise after every tablespoon. He looked over and saw Rey still crushing peppermint leaves and smiling just as she always did, and Ben grew quite angry. 

She wasn’t taking it seriously enough, and it bothered him to no end. It wasn’t just her that wasn’t taking it as seriously as he wanted, but the rest of the class too. No one was enthused to be cooking up Amortentia, and since his professor said once everyone was done mixing the first part they could leave to set up their pot in their dorms, everyone hurried through the mixing process with no cares in the world. It was dangerous. If anything went wrong the results could be catastrophic, and Ben knew this because he had studied the potion thoroughly, even outside of class. One by one his classmates stood up and hauled their cauldrons out of the door, taking the rest of the day off while Ben took his time to make sure every detail was done correctly. The last step before class ended was to throw in rose thorns and to simply leave it for another week. Once he had been dismissed he swiftly hoisted his pot over his shoulder and scurried toward the door, eager to set it up in his dorm to await the results. 

“Oh, Ben?” Someone spoke up as Ben made it halfway through the classroom. There were only one or two other students left, plus the professor who was erasing the board and preparing for his class in the morning. Ben turned around and eyed all of the other work stations. There was Cindy and Marlowe who were both sitting at the first station and just covering their cauldrons, and there was Anthony at the fourth, but none of them had called his name. He craned his neck a little further and felt a pit grow in his stomach when he locked eyes with Rey who was eagerly waving at him. He swallowed, contemplated simply turning around and pretending like he hadn’t seen her, but he really didn’t want to be rude. For all he knew Rey didn’t know that she had basically been his unspoken rival during their entire stay at Hogwarts. Silently, Ben walks across the room while balancing his cauldron over his shoulder, and with each step Rey gets giddier and giddier. 

“Hi.” Ben says awkwardly as he comes within three feet of Rey’s station and just stops. Rey beams at him, clearing her throat before turning back to her station and shuffling through her materials. 

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve heard you’re  _ the  _ expert when it comes to potions,” She says, cocking her head to the side. Ben can’t help but to stare at her lips, her blood red lips that contrast the pale skin of her face yet accent the rosy red in her cheeks. Was she blushing, or was that even more makeup? Ben couldn’t tell, but he knew he had to start paying attention to what she was saying. “I wanted to know if you had any extra moonstone? I’m like half a tablespoon short, and I want this potion to be perfect so that the professor doesn’t fail me.” Her face changes from a look of pleasure to a look of pleading, and Ben’s emotions shift uncomfortably. Part of him wants to refuse her, to see her crash and burn like he had been secretly wishing she would. She was right when she said he’s a potions expert, and he really did feel honored that she came to him privately. He couldn’t let her fail; not when he knew that she knew that there was one subject he was better in than she was. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Kylo said as he carefully moved his cauldron from off of his shoulder and onto the floor. “How much did you say? Half a tablespoon?” He asked as his head swelled with pride. 

“Yeah, just about.” Rey said as she began scooting her chair in. Ben grew nervous as he watched her make room for him, realizing that she wanted him to pour for her. He held his vile of moonstone in his pocket as he assessed the situation. It was true he took his potion-making very seriously, and the last thing he wanted to do was hand over his precious moonstone and have her waste it by adding too much into her cauldron. Then he’d be out moonstone and she’d fail the assessment. Rey held her hand out to accept the glass vile but Ben uncorked it and held his hand over the cauldron himself.

“I’ve got it,” He said smoothly, tipping the vile and tapping it so that roughly half a tablespoon fell in. In his years making potions he had become great at simply being able to eyeball amounts for his ingredients, and this was no exception. A small cloud of smoke lifted from the potion water as the moonstone mixed with the peppermint, and that’s when Ben knew he had added enough. “Make sure you stir counterclockwise.” Ben warned as he began stepping away.

“Oh, of course,” Rey said nervously. As he lifted his cauldron onto his shoulder again he took a cautionary look at her. Her cheeks were turning redder as she picked up the stirrer and placed it into her cauldron. “Of course I will. Thank you Ben.” She said, smiling awkwardly at him as she began to stir just as she told him. Ben could see it in her guilty brown eyes. She hadn’t stirred in the right direction. Ben tried to keep the disappointment off of his face, but, really, he felt bad for her. Potion making wasn’t easy, and it took him a long time to perfect his technique. So what if she hadn’t remembered to stir in the right direction? She did come to him for help instead of trying to fix it herself, which would have been dangerous. He still wanted to help her, and he did the only thing he thought to do in the situation.

“Here,” He said as she leaned back over to her, reached back into his pocket for his vile of moonstone. She held out her hand and he placed the vile into it, letting his closed fist linger into her small palm for a second longer than he wanted to. “Keep it. Just in case.” He said, knowing full well she was going to have to redo her entire potion. Her dainty fingers curled around the glass vile which sat much bigger in her smaller hands, and she looked up at him with a smile.

“Thanks.” She said, to which Ben nodded his head at her and walked away. Moonstone wouldn’t be that hard to replace, and at the very least Rey wouldn’t fail her potion as long as she redid it correctly. Ben left the classroom with his head held high, feeling much better after interacting with Rey for the very first time. Maybe all of the animosity he originally held toward her really was unfounded. 

In the darkest corner of his small dorm room, his cauldron sat steeping for the next week, and once a day he would stir it counterclockwise. It bubbled and thickened as the rose thorns had wilted and liquified over the week, and by the 9th day, Ben replaced the silk cloth over the top and confidently carried the cauldron back to class to add the final ingredient. He had no doubt that his Amortentia was flawless and would be graded as such, but ever since he left class that last day he couldn’t help but to wonder about Rey and how she did.

He half expected her to come running to him for help some time during or after class, but she never did. He figured it was probably hard for her to speak to him at all since their respective houses were always at each other’s throats, but she did it anyway and a small part of him respected her for that. He would have gladly helped her if she needed him too since she had been so pleasant to him the first time, but she never did. She didn’t even so much as look at him in class after the day he gave away his vile of moonstone, and Ben decided he simply needed to move on. It was his last year at Hogwarts. He really needed to focus on himself and his studies. 

He takes his seat in the back of the classroom and immediately sets his fire ablaze. The classroom is mostly empty, save for the professor and two of his classmates, and Ben figures the quicker he can finish his potion, the better. He sets his books out and straightens his robes, pulling the final few ingredients as the class began to fill up, and as soon as Rey walks in his eyes are drawn to her. She came in talking to one of her friends and looking just as confident as he felt. She set her cauldron down onto the stand and ignited the fire, all while pulling out the remainder of the ingredients and situating herself. Ben was impressed. Maybe she had done a lot of studying and redid her potion perfectly, or maybe she got some help from someone in her house. Either way, Ben did his best to be pleased with her.

Their professor filed in and began his lesson, and before Ben knew it he was putting the final touches into his Amortentia. One by one he placed the frozen Ashwinder eggs into the pot, stirring as he went. Steam rose from the cauldron and it warmed the air around him. Then he dripped the placebo blood of his fake “victim,” which was a property that would mimic human blood for the potion to be complete, into the cauldron. It continued to steam, and as soon as the liquid turned the beautiful pearlescent color he knew he had completed it, and it had been a success. 

It would seem everyone else in the class had finished around the same time he had, because just a few minutes after Ben had bottled his Amortentia the professor had everyone settle and wrap up their work. 

“I must remind you all that this potion is very dangerous if ended up in the wrong hands,” The professor started. Ben held his small bottle in his hands nervously. It had to have been long enough for it to create an aroma. He wanted to know what it smelled like. He wholeheartedly believed that it did smell different for everyone, smelling like their favorite things and, if they were lucky, who they're most fond of. As the professor went on Ben contemplated uncorking the bottle and giving it a whiff, but he didn’t want to be punished. “I encourage each and every one of you to bottle it up and save it for a rainy day, or simply display it in a collection of potions. It’s up to you how you use it, I simply urge you to be responsible.” He professor continued and Ben waited patiently, listening to the lecture on the next potion he’d be responsible for conjuring, and as soon as everyone was dismissed back to their dorms Ben was on his feet ready to see if his Amortentia was as perfect as he was expecting. With his potion held securely in one hand and his bookbag in the other, he scurried down the aisles hoping to make it out of class as quickly as he could until an intrusion stopped him in his tracks. 

“Ben!” Cried Rey as she stepped right in front of him at the last second. He couldn’t stop himself fast enough and ended up running right into her, causing his books to fall from his arms and his Amortentia to tip over. The cork came right off but, luckily, Ben was able to tip it up right before any of the liquid could escape.”Oh, I’m so sorry.” She said as she bent over to pick up the books he had dropped. 

“It’s alright.” Ben said as he cursed himself for not securing the cork tightly enough. He paid Rey no mind as he looked at the fresh steam rising from the glass container, and he realized that now was his chance. He didn’t get a chance to see Rey attempting to hand him his books because he closed his eyes and took a long, deep whiff of his Amortentia.

Chocolate chip cookies.

Extra sweet lemonade.

And a ray of sunshine.

A ray of sunshine? What was that? He opened his eyes and brought his bottle up closer to his nose to try and place what that last smell was. It literally smelled like a sunny day, like an actual ray of sunshine. He lifted his eyes and looked up to Rey who was now clutching his books to her chest looking rather flustered. He didn’t know why and it was the last thing on his mind, because he didn’t understand why he would be smelling such a thing.

“Oh, that’s, that’s really odd…” Rey started, clearing her throat and taking a step away from Ben. “Yours smells just like my favorite laundry soap.” She said with a smile, but Ben’s world came to a screeching halt.

No. It couldn’t be. Rey’s favorite laundry soap was what he was smelling. He blinked at Rey once, twice, three times before Rey dropped her look of confusion and immediately reached for her Amortentia that had stayed uncapped this entire time. She lifted it to her nose and inhaled deeply, and when she opened her eyes she gasped, immediately meeting Ben’s.

“I smell black tea, peanut butter, and, and….” She said, looking as if she were about to panic. “Ben, do you like Bennett Ale Rootbeer?” At her innocent question, Ben nearly dropped his Amortentia to the floor. Bennett Ale Rootbeer was his all time favorite sugary drink. He could drink it all day and night if the school would allow him. This couldn’t be happening. The Amortentia showed its users what they were most attracted to, even if they weren’t aware of that attraction. Could this mean that both Rey and Ben had just been made aware of their mutual attraction?

Ben slowly and solemnly nodded his head at her, and Rey finally let go of a breath. His fingers had gone tingly, and he truly did not know how to react. There was no way it was a coincidence. What was the likelihood that two different Amortentias could be brewed by two different people and they both smelled exactly like one another? The two stared at one another until Rey was the one who finally broke the silence, clearing her throat and setting her bottle down on the table beside her.

“Do you want to go to the gardens and, talk, or something?” She asked him. Ben knew full and well what she wanted to talk about.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ben said as he reached for his books and stepped away. “That sounds good. I’ll meet you there in five?” He asked, to which Rey nodded her head. Just as he tried to before, Ben was nearly sprinting out of the classroom and headed straight to the gardens. He had a lot of thinking to do, and he preferred to get some of it done alone. However, all nervousness aside he couldn’t believe that Rey was subconsciously attracted to him. As he ducked and dodged the other students in the halls he thought about what this really meant. Sure he had the option of simply walking away and never looking and Rey ever again, but is that what he wanted? Sure the girl irritated him to no end with her perfection and her poise, but that all meant nothing when the two of them had mutual feelings of adoration for one another. He also worried about what Rey thought of him, if she even noticed him before the current semester. What if she found him just as bothersome as he found her? Would she be able to look past that just as he did? Ben swallowed as he filed out of the main school building and into the open, heading straight for the gardens. Now wouldn’t be a good time to dwell on such a fact. Once he got to speak to Rey herself, he would get all the answers he needed.

The sun is hidden by a raincloud, but there is no rain. It’s cool out, there’s no wind, and Ben picks the first bench he finds to sit on. He’s incredibly nervous as he drops his books on the ground next to him. He doesn’t know what he’s going to say once Rey arrives--if she arrives. For some reason, the thought of Rey standing him up hurts him more than he thought. He  _ was  _ interested in talking this out with her, even if it ended with both of them rejecting each other. He knew this wasn’t a mistake, and when he saw Rey approaching him he realized she didn’t think it was a mistake either. Ben looked up at her as she smiled awkwardly at him and, like the gentleman he was, he scooted over and made sure there was enough space for her to sit comfortably. He watched her closely as she sunk down, smoothed her skirt out and placed her hands cheerfully in her lap.

“Bennett Ale’s got a really powerful smell.” She said with a girly giggle. 

“Well, so does your laundry detergent.” Ben responded with nothing else better to say.

“Did, did you know?” She asked, leaning her head down and looking Ben straight into his eyes. Ben quickly looked away from her as he thought hard about his answer.

He couldn’t deny she was cute. Her adorable little pixie nose, her flashy gorgeous smile, and her personality that was bigger than all of Hogwarts all drew him in. If he took a step back he could admit that her intelligence was also something he admired about her. He gulped as he realized that the answer to her question was yes. He had always been attracted to her, he just didn’t know it until he got to actually spend time with her.

“I mean, yeah. I guess,” He started, looking up at her and allowing a smile to spread across his face. “Maybe not as much until today, but I guess it’s always been there.” Rey shrugged, looked down and dug the tips of her shoes into the dry dirt beneath her. 

“I never really noticed you, Ben. I mean, every once and a while I’d see you in the halls and I’d think to myself, ‘wow, he’s so tall and so, so…’” She trailed off, and Ben found himself unconsciously leaning forward waiting to hear the rest of her explanation. “Well, I never had a word for how I felt about you. But the Amortentia doesn’t lie, right?” She asked him, turning to the potion master for help once again.

“No, I suppose not,” Ben said. He grew warm and happy at Rey’s explanation of him, realizing that she had basically felt the same as she did. It was a step in the right direction; the same direction Ben wanted to go in. “So what exactly does that make us?” Ben asked, and again Rey shrugged her shoulders and giggled at him.

“I don’t really know,” She said, and the two locked eyes again. “I stopped you to give this,” Rey said, reaching beside her and pulling out a now full bottle of moonstone. “Thanks for giving me some. I had to redo my Amortentia and…” Rey said, trailing off as Ben held his hand open to receive it. She dropped the bottle in his hand, but before Ben could pull his hand away Rey dropped hers on top of the bottle and laced her fingers with his. “...I’m glad that it came out so perfect.” She said with a quiet sigh. Ben held his breath as Rey so brazenly held her hand in his, rubbing his knuckles with her thumb. A smile slowly spread across his face as he closed his hand around hers, realizing that it had always been meant to be. They were in rival houses, and complete opposites. But as they say, opposites attract and the Amortentia doesn’t lie. 

The two sit in the gardens alone, hand in hand and enjoying each other’s company. Ben had never been more thankful for his love of potioning.


End file.
